Cabanagem

Caboclos circa 1912

The Nineteenth-Century Context of Immigration and Colonization For half a century after the abolition of the Directorate in 1798, neither Portugal nor Brazil had an effective settlement policy for the Amazon Basin. Shortly before Brazil's political independence in 1822, the Belem elite began a heady orgy of political temper tantrums, pitting Portuguese against Creole in petty politicking that eventually broke into the open warfare known as the Cabanagem revolt. The political rhetoric and vitriol did not reflect fundamental social or economic differences between the participants but simply questions of political method and the spoils of office. However, by engaging numbers of the semifree peasants and detribalized Indians of the region (known as caboclos), workers, and marginal small farmers to do the physical fighting, the elite foretold their own destruction. In 1835, when the lower class eventually rose in rebellion against the men they perceived as authority figures, a good many individuals of the ruling class died violent deaths.
Most of the fighting and destruction during the Cabanagem took place in and around Selem, but outbreaks of violence occurred all over the basin. It was a localized rebellion over local issues, with limited ideological scope that spread over an immense territory. It was not a revolt with a clear agenda or purpose, but the violence was often a matter of personal grudges and vendettas. The caboclos struck out against those individuals whom they saw as having wealth and power over them, most often being those of European ancestry. Although not clearly defined enough to be called race and class warfare, the Cabanagem was definitely a war between the haves and have-nots. The elite class suffered serious losses, as many died during the shelling of Belem or disappeared after fleeing the city.
When most of the fighting had ended by 1836, the survivors from the elite class slowly reestablished their economic control of the basin. In time, they would again guide the reins of economic growth, but they remained extremely cautious about their relationship with the caboclos. As the issue of colonization and settlement of new areas became a major topic of debate, the residual fear of the violent potential of the caboclos may well have been one reason for the decision to bring foreign immigrants rather than resettle and subsidize the native paraenses. The elites had no intention of allowing the caboclos any opportunity for advancement.

Colonization As Exploitation in the Amazon Rain Forest, 1758-1911 By Robin Leslie Anderson